Who we are

We are an investment management firm whose investment strategy is based on a quantitative and scientific approach to financial markets.

Founded in 1991, we are one of the most established firms of our kind, with a track record built on a carefully managed expansion process, rigorous risk framework and distinct culture that blends a unique mixture of the scientific background of our researchers and IT engineers, supported by an experienced corporate team. The firm is owned by management and employees, with a minority stake held by Dyal Capital.

Research and technology are the key enablers of the investment process at CFM, which involves creating strategies derived from analysing huge quantities (petabytes per annum) of financial data allowing trading decisions to be executed in a highly systematic and disciplined way. We look for statistically significant patterns from which we create investment strategies that are rigorously tested before being implemented by algorithms that control the buying and selling of securities. CFM manages a large set of quantitative strategies which trade liquid instruments across global markets including futures, equities, bonds, options, and spot and forward FX. In view of these challenges, collaboration, humility and innovation are key components to our culture.

Our investors include Pension Funds, Endowments, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Foundations, Fund of Funds, Private Banks, Insurance Companies and Family Offices and we have offices in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo.

In addition to carrying out research on new strategies, we have strong links to a number of universities and our researchers contribute to the advancement of knowledge in finance and economics by lecturing and regularly publishing academic articles.

Our entities are registered with the:

AMF in France

CFTC and SEC in the USA

FCA in the UK

FSA in Japan

We are a member of:

AFG - Association Française de la Gestion financière

AIMA - Alternative Investment Management Association

HFSB - Hedge Fund Standards Board

Our vision

Big-data and technology are set to have as profound an impact on the world as the industrial revolution. In fields as varied as medicine, science and finance, we have already seen massive advances. We were pioneers of econophysics and innovators by applying research and academic techniques to finance and economics in order to create consistent returns not correlated to wider market performance and delivered within appropriate risk parameters.

Data proliferation is a modern phenomenon that looks set to continue. This combined with huge technological change, means we believe structural change in finance is inevitable. Systematic techniques will become the norm in asset management and firms with the research capability and technology to harness data will be winners. Our aim is to remain at the vanguard of this revolution, whilst staying true to our philosophy and culture.

Our board

Dr. Jean-Philippe Bouchaud

Chairman |

Jean-Philippe is Chairman and Chief Scientist. He supervises our research department with Marc and maintains strong links between our research team and the academic world. He is also a professor at Ecole Polytechnique where he teaches Statistical Mechanics and a course on “Complex Systems”. He joined CFM in 1994.

Philippe Jordan

President |

Philippe heads the New York office and runs the Investor Relations department. He has an extensive background in the alternatives space, having worked for a variety of global financial institutions including Credit Suisse, Daiwa and Oppenheimer. He has deep knowledge and understanding of the investment community developed through his time at CFM and the variety of senior roles he has held, including in capital introduction, sales and alternative investment development. He joined CFM in 2005.

Dr. Marc Potters

Co-CEO |

Marc co-heads, together with Jean-Philippe, the research team, comprising mainly Ph.D.s. With his team, he has published numerous articles in the new field of statistical finance while continuing to develop concrete applications of financial forecasting, option pricing and risk control. Marc obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University. He joined CFM in October 1995 as a researcher in quantitative finance.

Jacques Saulière

Co-CEO |

Jacques oversees operations and technology. He graduated from the École Centrale in Paris in 1985 and also holds M.Sc. degrees in Electrical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California and a MBA from INSEAD at Fontainebleau. Jacques worked with the CFM team throughout the 1990s, while at Ubitrade, a financial services company also founded by Jean-Pierre Aguilar, before joining CFM in August 2001.